Top German player Philipp Kohlschreiber is hoping to iron out the minor creases in his game to achieve his full potential among the top players on the ATP Tour.

"Maybe I'm losing a bit too often against the top 20 to 50 ranked players and this shouldn't be happening," Kohlschreiber told Gulf News after going down in straight sets to fourth seed David Ferrer on Wednesday.

"Playing and winning against the top 10 should come as a bonus for a player like me," he added.

Kohlschreiber opened 2009 with back-to-back quarterfinal showings in Doha, where he lost to losing finalist Roger Federer, and Auckland, where he withdrew with a right shoulder injury.

On Wednesday, he was headed towards a third quarterfinal when fourth seed David Ferrer of Spain stopped him in his tracks with a 6-4, 6-2 win. "I have been trying out a few things in the past few weeks and they seem to coming together. I need to first start winning on the big stage," the 25-year-old Kohlschreiber stated.

"If I can go in the top 15 or 20 then I am headed in the right direction," he added.

Much of his hard work was in evidence last year when he ended the season as the top German for the first time. He best showing was in April 2008 when he climbed up to No 24 for career-high earnings of $775,090 (Dh2,844,580).

"The goal for this year is to believe in myself and head for a top 20 finish. I would be happy with this position for sure. I'm not thinking about the big steps, but I would rather target the smaller steps to achieve my goals," Kohlschreiber said.

A keen fan of Bayern Munich, who went on to thrash Sporting Lisbon 5-0 on Wednesday night, Kohlschreiber believes that his hard work will start paying off in the near future.

"But till then I need to keep on evolving and continue improving. There are a few small things that I need to pay attention to, and if I do that then I can be one of the fittest players on Tour," Kohlschreiber maintained.